LANcom Technology Blog

Just found the LANcom blog? This blog is now at a different location. To read all our latest articles you can go to www.lancom.co.nz/blog.

Here’s some of the newer articles you can check out over at the new blog.

1. Make browsing the internet on your mobile device easier with Dolphin HD
2. Five awesome Gmail tips you might not know about
3. Never miss a word again with Livescribe smartpens
4. Make more exciting presentations with Prezi
5. Surf the web more safely with a Web of Trust browser extension

Want a way to quickly see what your website or blog looks like from different devices? If you want to make sure your website can be easily read from a tablet or smartphone, Screenfly is a free tool that allows you to do this.

With Screenfly all you need to do is enter your website URL and you will be able to see how it appears on different computer monitors, tablets, smartphones, even on different resolutions of TVs.

To try out Screenfly for yourself, click here.

Hat tip to MakeUseOf for the idea for this post

Looking for a better way to store and order your notes? Here are 3 free options you should consider.

1. Evernote – Evernote is a powerful tool which allows you to save and manage the information you find both on and off the web. With Evernote you can store things like text notes, web-clippings, entire webpages, photos, and screenshots. Perhaps the most impressive feature of Evernote is its ability to read text within pictures (OCR). This feature means that you can take photos of text, send them to your Evernote account, and then at a later date be able to easily find them. To visit the Evernote site and learn more, click here.
2. SpringPad – With SpringPad you can easily save things like notes, checklists, tasks, and web-clippings. What makes SpringPad special is it’s really good at automatically categorising things for you. It is also able to automatically pair what you add with other useful information like directions or reviews from other places on the web. To learn more, click here.
3. Simplenote – If you are looking for a text only note taking tool, Simplenote is the one for you. With Simplenote you can access your notes from anywhere, access multiple versions of your notes, easily categorise and order them, and collaborate with others. To learn more about Simplenote, click here.

Soluto is an interesting free download that can help you speed up the time it takes to start up your computer. With Soluto you will be able to easily see which applications are slowing you down and then deal with these applications in an appropriate way.

So how does it work?

Soluto analyses all the applications that start up with your computer and then helps you identify which ones can be removed. To make things super easy Soluto groups all applications in to No-brainer (should be removed), Potentially removable, and Required.

You can then Pause certain applications to stop them from starting up or Delay them to prevent them from starting up until after the initial set of applications is loaded.

If you are unsure whether you should pause or delay an application, Soluto provides you with a graph of what other users have done and also gives you a read more link to additional information on the application.

Other features

Soluto calls itself “Anti-Frustration Software”, and while speeding up your boot time is Soluto’s main feature, you can also use it to speed up you internet browser and to identify the reasons behind application crashes.

Here’s a video of all of Soluto’s features in action.

If you would like to visit the Soluto site and learn more about it, click here.

Hat tip to MakeUseOf for the idea for this post

Wondering if you should use Evernote or Springpad, or maybe you can’t decide between a Kindle and a Nook? If you’re trying to decide between two different tech products, GetComparisons is a great site that allows you to easily see the differences.

GetComparisons pits competing products against each other and gives each an overall rating based on votes, but it also picks a winner and a loser for each aspect of the product. This means you can easily see which product is better based on what is important to you.

GetComparisons is still in beta, so at this stage the number of comparisons available is limited. However, if the comparison you are after is not available you can request it and it may be created it for you.

To visit the GetComparisons site, click here.

Hat tip to Lifehacker for the idea for this post

Want to make keeping track of your budget really easy? The Birdy is a free online tool that allows you to record your purchases via a simple daily email.

When you sign up to The Birdy you will receive an email each day asking you to reply with what you have spent. All you need to do is add each item on a new line, add tags next to them like #food or #travel, and then click send.

When you’re ready to analyse your spending, you can log into The Birdy to view easy to understand charts and graphs.

There are lots of great budget tracking tools available, but if you are looking for something super simple The Birdy might be just the one for you.

To learn more about The Birdy, click here to visit the site.

Hat tip to Lifehacker for the idea for this post

Looking for an easy to use web app to help you stay productive? Lazy Meter is a simple online tool that only shows you the things you need to get done today, so you don’t get overwhelmed by a long to-do list.

For each task in your days list you can start them, pause them to push them to tomorrow, or check them off as completed. You also have access to a done view, allowing you to see how much you have completed and gain insights into your productivity.

LazyMeter is currently still in the process of creating apps for the iPhone and Android, but if you would like to use it on your phone the online version will work in any phones web browser. To visit the site and try it out for yourself, click here.

Hat tip to Lifehacker for the idea for this post

Do you find the fonts on some websites difficult to read or just plain annoying? FontFonter is a free online tool that allows you to quickly change the font of a website to one that you prefer.

To use FontFonter, just paste the link to the website you want to view into the box on the FontFonter homepage. FontFonter will then show you your website with an additional bar at the top of your screen that allows you to change the font.

Here’s an example of how the LANcom blog can look when using FontFonter to change the font.

FontFonter has around 30 fonts you can choose from, and works best when you are using the Firefox or Chrome browsers. If you would like to try out FontFonter, click here.

Note: If you would just like to increase your text size while browsing the internet, you can do this using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl +. To decrease the size again use Ctrl -.

Springpad is a free service that allows you to save and manage all the things you want to remember. With SpringPad you can easily save things like notes, checklists, tasks, and web-clippings all in one place. Everything you add is automatically categorised, automatically synced, and automatically paired with useful information like directions or reviews from other places on the web.

Here’s a closer look at what you can do with Springpad:

1. Add it your way – You can add to your Springpad in a lot of different ways. Besides the web portal and the browser extension you can also use Springpad through free apps for the iPad, iPhone, and Android. You can even just send an email to your Springpad account to create a note.
2. Organise things how you want – Springpad can automatically categorise everything you save, but also gives you other powerful organisational features. You can tag items with keywords, create completely separate workbooks for different projects, and use a digital cork-board interface to visually plan things.
3. Let Springpad enhance your information – Everything you save in Springpad can be enhanced with additional information like links to reviews, directions, or price comparisons. You can even take a photo of a barcode on your smartphone and Springpad will find information on the product.
4. Receive alerts and reminders – Springpad includes built in alerts and reminders, so you remember the things you need to get done and know about changes that are relevant to the things you have saved.

Here’s a video, to help you learn a bit more about how SpringPad works.

To find out more about SpringPad, or to try it out for yourself, click here. To download the free iPad or iPhone App, click here. For the Android App, click here.

Need to edit an image, create a vector, or remix some audio? Aviary is a suite of online creative applications, which you can use for free.

Here are the seven tools included in the Aviary suite:

1. Phoenix - an image editor that can be used for everything from basic image retouching through to complex effects.
2. Raven - a vector editor that can create fully scalable vector art.
3. Peacock - an effects editor that allows you to experiment with pixel-based images.
4. Roc - a music creator able to simulate dozens of musical instruments.
5. Myna - an audio editor you can use to remix music or add sound effects.
6. Falcon - an image mark-up tool that works with a browser extension to quickly capture images from your browser. You can then crop, resize, or mark them up.
7. Toucan - a swatch editor that allows you to choose up to 20 colors per palette using color association rules or by an uploaded image.

These tools have heaps of features and are relatively easy to use, but if you need help there are quite a few user generated tutorials on the site. If you would like to learn more or try out any of these great tools, click here.

Note: At present you can only export the flat versions of your files (like jpg and gif), but by signing up for a free account you are able to save your unflattened work files on the site.